Rules Were Made to be Broken
by bufffycat
Summary: Alfred awakes to find himself being held in the dark and his only companion is a large man named Ivan. It's difficult to say whose side Ivan is on when he speaks of the rules the that must be followed. Alfred may not be much of a fan of rules, but following these ones could mean the difference between life and death. AU RusAme, Warnings for torture
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Many thanks to HeartOfGold15 for helping to inspire and encourage this to be posted._

Nothing felt right with the situation, Alfred knew that much for sure, but he had grown fuzzy as to the details of why that was the case. His mind felt muddled and drowsy and his eyelids felt like lead and refused to open. His consciousness attempted to sort through the fog, desperately trying to excavate fragments of his memory.

Things were coming to him slowly: that his name was Alfred, that he was in college studying history, and that he also had a brother and a father. His mind continued to drift around and as he became more awake, he became more aware that it was not just his eyes that felt heavy, but his limbs did as well. A sudden flare of panic coursed through him and he struggled to make them move and only succeeding in to flopping in what he was sure looked completely pathetic if there was anyone around to witness.

Breathing hard, he ceased his attempts and tried to hold onto that last bit of rationality. What was the last thing he remembered? Images began to filter through of when he had lunch with Matthew after his morning classes. They had chatted about normal things like their plans for the weekend around a small table at the café on campus and then bid him farewell to go get ready for the run he normally went on a few times during the week. It was something he tried to do to keep fit, though he never really felt like it did much good whenever he stood in front of the mirror and examined his softer midsection.

He knew he set out at an easy pace with his headphones encouraging him forward and turned towards his normal route which partially ran through the local forest and park. But after that, there was nothing. A large empty black space in Alfred's memory and that was what was worrying him.

His senses were starting to function once again and he realized with a start that he could smell damp earth surrounding him. He mentally cursed; he had probably fallen and blacked out on his run. It was incredibly careless of him and extremely clumsy and something he would never tell anyone else about. He doubted his twin would ever let him live it down and his father would probably forbid he ever go somewhere where no one would see his passed out ass on the path.

That taken care of he tried to relax and do a quick self check to make sure everything was alright. He tried wiggling his fingers and toes pleased that both moved without pain and meant nothing was broken, but when he tried to shift his arms and legs he found that neither moved from the awkward position he was in. He was lying on his side with his arms twisted around behind him and from how sore his shoulders were getting he had been lying like this for a while. He tried to free himself from whatever it was that was holding him, but no such luck. Seeing no other alternative yet he finally managed to crack his eyes open a bit to take a look at his surroundings.

It was pitch black when Alfred's bright blue eyes first fluttered open and his mind immediately panicked that it must be well after nightfall. How long could he have been out and lying on the ground somewhere? He waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and attempting to think through a plan when he heard something make a shuffling noise not too far away. He stilled, attempting to ignore the pounding that resounded loudly in his ears and strained to listen for the sound again. A minute passed before he heard it and his eyes snapped in the direction of the noise. It was still too dark for him to see anything, but when the shuffling noise came a third time, this time accompanied with large and quiet foot falls be began to panic. He was out in the woods, in the dark, and it was probably a wild animal that had come looking for a delectable Alfred-sized snack.

He thought quickly through all of his available options. What had all the nature documentaries said to do when something like this was happening? He recalled hearing something about lying on your stomach and covering the back of your neck if it was a bear. He listened to the steps and decided that they sounded big enough to belong to something like a bear and with a little bit of momentum managed to roll off his side and fall forwards on his front. Once in this position though, he realized how vulnerable he had become. His hands were still caught behind him so getting back up would prove difficult and the animal was drawing steadily closer. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, Alfred tensed waiting for the animal to strike when it stopped right beside him.

However, it wasn't a paw that touched Alfred's shoulder, but a human hand. This didn't stop the surprised yelp as said hand rolled him back into his previous position and Alfred's eyes flew open to see the blurry outline of a large human shape looming above him becoming faintly clearer in the darkness. A large hand covered his mouth and tried to shush him as he attempted to yell. "Not too much noise." A voice whispered and waited for the American to calm enough to give a small nod in understanding.

"Look, I can't thank you enough for finding me." Alfred dove into as soon as the hand was removed and trying to keep his voice low, "I think I fell while I was running and now I'm stuck. You've got to help me up because you see, my brother probably got worried when I didn't come home and probably called our dad who probably called the police and is currently harassing them all to go and find me and so I better hurry up and get back so he doesn't end up causing a scene and… hey? Are you listening to me?"

The figure was silent and still beside him, and Alfred couldn't help but frown and try to squint to make out what the person was doing. "Hello? Earth to stranger dude? I need you to help me get home!"

"But… you are home…" The voice whispered back to him with a slight twinge of confusion in his tone.

"Uh… No I'm not." Alfred argued, accidentally letting his voice raise a little in his frustration. "I live somewhere else. In a dorm room on a college campus. You need to help me so I can get there."

"I… I can't…" The stranger shifted uneasily in the darkness and Alfred could make out his form rocking back and forth a little. "This is your home now. You must stay here."

"Look, this place is nice and all," Alfred insisted glaring up at what he hoped was this person's face, "but tell me why I have to stay here."

"It's the rule." The voice muttered quietly and Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"There's a rule about how I have to stay here?" he asked and watched as what he assumed must be the figure's head move up and down. "What's another rule?"

"You have to be quiet too. Not too much noise." The stranger whispered and Alfred pretended to think this over.

"Don't leave and be quiet? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I never liked following rules like that." He couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face as he let himself grow a little louder. "Actually, I absolutely hate being told to stay put and be quiet so I'll be as loud as I-mmph…"

"No!" The voice cried with a little more urgency as he pressed a hand over the American's mouth again. "Then you… you would break the rules! You cannot break the rules!"

Alfred frowned and directed another useless glare in the direction of the man quieting him, figuring whoever it was couldn't actually make out how angry he was. He quieted and waited for the large hand to be once again removed and as soon as it was lifted hissed "So, what? What happens if break the precious rules?"

The stranger was quiet for a while and Alfred wasn't sure he was going to answer at all. He opened his mouth to argue some more when the person replied in a small hurt voice, "Then… Then I will have to punish you…"

Alfred's eyes grew impossibly wide as he stared up at the large figure. "Hey… Hey, let's be cool about this…" he chocked out. Whoever this was, the man was seriously whack. Rules and punishment? It would be just his luck to be picked up by a psychopath. "There's no need to punish anyone here…"

"No, that's what happens." The man pleaded. He reached forward and grabbed a hold of the blonde's shoulders to shake him slightly. "Breaking the rules means you are punished!"

"Stop! Let me go, you freak!" Alfred cried out and tried to wiggle free of the man's hold on him. Somewhere from above them there was a squeak, sounding as though it came from a wooden floor board and both men froze at the sound. Alfred stared above him, eyes darting back and forth in the darkness attempting to figure out where he was. It sounded like he was inside somewhere, but shouldn't he still be outside if he had simply fallen while running?

The hands holding him suddenly released him and he could hear the man shuffling away muttering apologies. "Please, you must follow the rules. They like it if you do." He said once more before somewhere a door opened the click of a switch made a bright light in the center of the room hum to life. Alfred cringed at the sudden light, curling inwards on himself and waiting for the pain to subside and listening carefully to the footsteps that lightly made their way down a set of wooden steps. "Ivan?" a new voice questioned and it made the American stiffen as he listened. "Has your new friend woken up?"

The voice from before gave a small affirmation and Alfred could hear feet moving around the room and felt the presence of another stop somewhere nearby. Steeling himself against what the absolute worst possible thing that it could be, he opened his eyes to meet the flat brown ones that stared down at him and showed little of what their owner was currently thinking. Alfred quickly scanned the man who was crouched and watching him intently: slight build, dark hair and Asian descent from the looks of it. They didn't look familiar, Alfred was pretty sure he had never met this man before, but he had never been one to easily remember names and faces.

He easily found the form of the man before and he had been right in guessing that the man was large but was surprised to see how pale he was. Alfred briefly wondered when the last time the man had seen any form of sunlight was as his skin practically glowed beneath his shaggy platinum blonde hair. The man was seated quietly on the floor gazing up at the third man in the room, another shorter man who looked Asian, but kept his long brown hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. The man was looking down lovingly at the large man with a warm smile.

"What is this…?" Alfred croaked, wild blue eyes flashing between all three impatiently awaiting an answer as all eyes focused on him.

"I needed a new pet." The man closest to him replied as though that answer explained everything.

"Then go buy a fucking goldfish!" Alfred shouted at him and tried to struggle once again and form a plan in his mind. He was in a cellar that looked like it had been only partial finished. The walls were made of cement and stone but it seemed the builders had given up on the floor and left it to its natural state of dirt and rock. There was only one exit that he could see: the wooden stairs that were on the other side of the room that ascended to an open and beckoning doorway. He just needed to get free and get past three lunatics and then get the hell out of here. Probably find some police and sick them on these nut-jobs.

The other man tsked in annoyance at Alfred's outburst. "I keep telling you Kiku, you need to stop choosing older pets." The one Alfred assumed must named Kiku turned away to look over his shoulder with a bored expression. "I had to train Ivan for years in order to get him to be this loyal." He gave the large man a quick pat to the head that he winced under. "You need to start them when they are younger."

Kiku, if that was indeed his name, seemed unhappy with the lecture and turned back to watching Alfred intently. "I prefer this one over something else."

The other man rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Fine, but don't blame me if this one doesn't make it."

Alfred stared as they carried on a conversation and acting as though he hadn't understood a word. "Hey! I'm not a dog or whatever! You need to let me go, got it?" He fought at whatever was holding him and let his voice grow louder in anger until he was practically screaming. "You cannot keep me here! I am a human being! I have rights!"

"Ugh, your new pet is about as noisy as the last one was." The other man complained pressing his hands over his ears. Seated beside him, the large man, Ivan he had said?, watched with sad eyes, practically pleading with the American to be silent. "Make him be quiet." The man ordered.

Kiku frowned a bit at the blonde that was shouting. "I will not tolerate this much noise." He said sternly and fixed his darker eyes on Alfred's.

"Fuck you!" Alfred yelled back, followed by a few more curses and finally resorting to the weird British ones his father tended to use when he ran out of things to shout at them.

Kiku stood up slowly, watching the college student as he writhed, screamed, and swore on the ground in front of him. Another minute and he stepped away to go join the others on the far side of the room and nodded at the ponytailed man. The man nodded in return and fetched something from underneath the stairs. "Ivan," the man cooed softly while handing the object over, "Your new friend will not listen. And do you know what happens now?"

Ivan looked up with large frightened eyes. "They are punished." He replied almost mechanically.

"Yes, Ivan." The man nodded and pointed towards Alfred. "He must be punished."

The next curse died on his lips as Alfred heard those words and watched fearfully as Ivan stood. He knew the man was large but it hadn't realized how large as the giant practically toward over everyone else and quietly walked over clutching what had been given to him and Alfred's eyes widened when he saw what it was. An old and rusted metal pipe; well, Alfred hoped that the brown it was coated in was rust and not… something else…

Alfred desperately tried to scoot away from the approaching giant but it was a fruitless effort. "Wait, let's talk about this." Alfred tried to reason with him as the panic rose in his chest and the man came to stop right beside him. "This isn't necessary!"

"You have to follow the rules." Ivan whispered mournfully as his grip tightened on the pipe. "I said you had to."

Alfred barely had time to register that the pale man had lifted the blunt object before it was brought down again.


	2. Chapter 2

The lights were off once again and Alfred could hear Ivan shuffling around somewhere in the dark. "Are… Are you alright…?" He whispered and Alfred could hear him trying to cautiously approach the blonde.

"You hit me with a pipe! Do you think I'm fucking alright?!" He hissed back over his shoulder, wincing as accidentally moved the spot where he had been struck. Damn that man, he thought angrily as turned his head back so he was facing the wall again. He was still trying to wrap his head around the situation and the bruising pain in his side, the sore ache of his limbs, the continual darkness, and the chill that was slowly consuming him were not helping him stay focused. And the focus was something he needed if he was to get out of this cellar. Ivan was still shifting around quietly and Alfred figured it was time to try a new tactic.

"Hey, uh, your name is Ivan, right?" Alfred asked while twisting his head back around. He had seen this plenty of times before. Well, okay, he had seen this plenty of times before on tv, but it probably applied to real life too. First, you make friends with your captor, get all buddy-buddy with them by talking about normal things, then, when you earned their trust, you get them to let you do something by yourself and, BAM!, make it to the nearest highway dodging bullets, leap onto a moving truck and ride it into town. Simple.

"Yes, I'm Ivan." The large man replied with a spark of happiness.

"Heya Ivan, my name's Alfred and-"

"I know."

Alfred paused, feeling his eyebrows crinkle together in confusion. "You know?"

"Yes. Yao told me what your name was before we went and found you." He could hear Ivan reply and his former plan was suddenly giving way to his sudden desire to extract as much information as he could.

"Yao is…?"

"Yao is my owner, like how Kiku is yours."

Alfred scowled at that. "I'm not owned by anyone."

"No, you are. By Kiku." Ivan insisted and Alfred could hear him trying to edge closer once again.

Alfred growled in frustration, but now was not the time to lose his cool. He still needed to figure a way out of here. "Fine, skipping past that, what do you mean Yao told you my name? How did Yao know what my name was?"

Ivan was silent for a moment while he tried to recall. "Kiku told him."

Alfred just rolled his eyes. "Sill not answering the real question here. How did Kiku know?"

"When… when he chose you, I think." Alfred just sighed. Unlike what he had hoped he was, which was that he had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time, he was now figuring that they had probably been following him for days. Weeks even. If they knew what his name was, then it was possible they also knew where he lived, where his family lived, and that brought him to the startling conclusion that they had been waiting for him to go on his run that afternoon. Thinking through all of that suddenly brought another question to the front of his mind.

"Ivan…?" He started slowly, staring straight ahead at nothing, "How did I get here? I mean, I obviously didn't walk, so what happened?" Herein lay the confusion: Yao and Kiku looked tiny and although he would never say he was fat (he was perfectly average, thank you) he had to be far too heavy for either one or even the both of them to carry him far. Hopefully this meant they were still inside the local park or forest, or maybe just outside it. And if that was the case then as soon as the search parties were sent out they wouldn't have to go far before they'd question the two upstairs, see that there was something fishy with them so that they would get a warrant, break down the door and storm the place. He'd be back in time for classes on Monday.

However the next words out of Ivan's mouth put a swift end to that dream: "We drove." Now not only did he realize that they had used a car to transport him, this freakishly huge individual was probably present and he at least didn't look like he would have issues carrying another full-grown man.

"Drove where, Ivan? How far did we go?" He was desperately clinging to that last shard of hope that he was still somewhere near the college town he was studying in. It was better than the alternative. He could be in a different city; no, worse, he could be in another state or even country for all he knew. How long had he been asleep? Alfred had assumed it had only been a couple of hours but in all honesty it could have been a day or two.

Silence was a difficult thing to gauge in the darkness and the American wished for some light to make out what his companion was doing when it took longer for him to answer. "I was asleep…"

Alfred let out a long sigh, careful not to agitate his side anymore than he had to. How long would it take for anyone to realize he had gone missing? Unless… his mind spun as he tried to think of alternatives, maybe Matthew had put him on some sort of reality show where they tried to scare someone and videotaped the whole thing. Yeah, there could be cameras up everywhere, including night vision ones of course, and somewhere Mattie was watching the feed with popcorn and a tub of ice cream laughing and having a great time at how lame he looked. He wouldn't put it past his twin.

Note to self: if Matthew is not behind this, never suggest reality shows to him.

More noise brought him out of his musings and he suddenly realized that it was much nearer than it was before. The scuffling was coming from beside him and with a start he looked up to realize that the large shape that was Ivan was standing just above him. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" He whispered up at the form, not completely sure what his intentions were. Ivan had hit him with a large metal pipe only an hour or so before.

Bracing for what might happen next, Alfred held his breath as the figure stooped closer and wrapped something around him. He blinked a few times, feeling the material rub against the exposed portions of his skin as Ivan took great care in trying to tuck the edges of a blanket beneath him. Alfred silently let the man complete his task without argument; he wasn't about to turn down a barrier to the cold, not when he was still in the loose-fitting shorts and old baggy t-shirt he had donned before left and they were not faring well against the damp earth floor of the cellar.

"Thanks." He muttered when Ivan finally finished, sat back and was still.

"I didn't want you to be cold." Was his reply and Alfred just sighed.

Several more minutes of silence while Alfred realized that his new found companion was not going to return to his side of the room and he had reached his limit of the awkwardness it was causing. "What did Kiku mean when he said he needed a new pet..?" Who knew why he was even asking this question, he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"He didn't like it here, so he tried to leave." Ivan answered sadly and as much as everyone said Alfred was an idiot, he could figure out the gist of what had happened to cause the sudden vacancy in this horror house.

The blonde gulped and tried to steady his breathing. "Look, I have a family that will miss me." He started, distinctly aware he was verging on begging now, but when plans A through F failed… "A brother and father and they won't just forget about me. They'll be looking for me. If you just untie me and let me go, I won't say anything." Fat chance of staying silent about this, but not that he was going to tell him that.

The man beside him shifted uneasily. "I can't." he whispered, "Your home is here now."

"How can you say that?!" Alfred spat out, barely able to keep his voice under control. "I have people who need me, and the biggest obstacle between me and the ability to walk out that door is you!"

"Shh!" Ivan tried to hush him by putting his hands over his mouth, "You are being too loud! You must learn to be quieter."

"Why? Because you'll hit me again?" Alfred threw his head around to get out from underneath Ivan's hands. All his wriggling was making his side ache but he was too riled up to let it hinder him much.

"Yes!" Ivan hissed back, trying to make the blonde stop moving. "But I don't want to have to hit my friends so-"

"Oh, trust me, we are _not_ friends." Alfred growled out glaring at Ivan's outline. The other paused at the outburst before retracting his hands and getting up. "Fine." He whispered with a little more spite to his tone and Alfred listened to the sounds of the larger moving away and settling down again on the opposite side of the room, throwing the entire space into silence soon after. He stared in the general direction the other had gone a little longer, willing any unfound superpowers to appear and set the man on fire or at the very least just make have nightmares of being chased by a very large monster. When nothing happened to indicate either event he turned his head back and attempted to settle beneath the rough blanket that, gratefully, had been left behind. Now just to figure out another plan to escape.


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: This chapter was originally much longer, but I hated the ending of it so I broke it up and am working on fixing it. Hopefully in the next few days it will be out (unless I suddenly throw a fit and start over...)  
_

Alfred was completely convinced he had never been so hungry in his life. The night had seemed to drag on as he fell into short periods of fitful sleep and continually waking up, whether it was the aches in his body from not being able to find a comfortable spot, when his arms fell asleep from his body weight cutting off circulation to them, or when the thin blanket moved and exposed a portion of his skin to the cold, he just couldn't fully drift off. And without any windows to the dark cellar he couldn't tell how far off the sunrise was only that in his mind it was still the earlier hours of the morning.

Ivan was silent for the rest of the evening and there were no more whispers or shifting around in the darkness, but he was sure that if he listened closely he could make out the sounds of the man's deep breathing. It gave him plenty of time to think when he wasn't trying to figure out a way to get the blanket back where it was supposed to be. The more sadistic voice that echoed inside his head was coming up with all sorts of examples as to what his captors meant by 'pet.' There was the standard vision of him in only a collar sitting patiently at their feet when they came home like some golden retriever, but that was the tamer of the possibilities his head had conjured up. Others included anything from personal sex slave to underground fighting ring and that second possibility would explain why there was only Ivan down here, especially if he was the opponent.

Alfred continued to futilely tug at his bindings when he was awake, even though he knew by now there was no hope of them giving way. His wrists were becoming sore and chaffed from his constant pulling, but somewhere in the back of his mind there was a small voice urging to try again; that somehow this time would be the time they would break and he would be free. He had always been known for his fool-hearty optimism, but even that was bound to give out eventually.

At some point his thoughts went back to his family, wondering what they were doing now. Did they know yet he wasn't coming home? And how worried were they? Alfred sighed softly as he thought about them and blinked furiously. He would see them again soon, because he was going to find a way to escape so he needn't get so upset. But he was sure his father was panicking when he recalled the time in the past the man had thought he'd lost his sons. It had been shortly after they had moved to their new home and while their father had been arguing with their new neighbor and using the bad words that neither brother were allowed to say that they decided to explore their new neighborhood. Together, hand in hand, the small children had set off down the street and eventually further along found a park to entertain themselves in.

But the look on their father's face when he finally caught up with them had made sure they never did something like that again. It was a cross of fury, relief, and the deepest form of pain caused when someone believes they have been abandoned. They had thoroughly scolded for leaving without permission and if he remembered right Matthew had blamed most of it on him, which caused him to chuckle a little at the memory and how no one ever seemed to realize how devious his twin could be. At least the day had ended well enough, with the friendly neighbor, who had also helped search for the missing boys, suggesting dinner and cementing the strange friendship that he kept with their family.

But that face his father had made. Maybe it had been too soon after everything they had been through at that time and the man could not have imagined losing more family, but the look of absolute worry and panic was what Alfred imagined his father would look like soon enough if not now already and that thought hurt. Deep down they loved each other no matter how many arguments they got into and no matter what insults they threw at each other, but the pain of one of his sons just disappearing? Alfred wasn't sure if this would be the thing that broke his old man.

Just when his troubled thoughts were reaching an all-time low and he was beginning to worry what would happen when his bladder reached capacity there were noises above him that soundly dimly like someone walking across squeaky floorboards and heading in the direction of the door. His entire body turned rigid as he waited and turned his head so he could focus on where the door was waiting for whatever was about to happen next. It took several minutes of anticipation before his only exit opened and the light flickered on. Alfred blinked against the light and looked up to find the man with the ponytail having already descended the stairs carrying something in his hands.

"Morning, Ivan." The brunette cooed, walking over and running a hand through Ivan's hair. "Did you sleep well?" The large man nodded looking up to meet Yao with bright eyes. "Would you like to go outside?" Yao asked which received a much more enthusiastic response which caused the shorter man to smile and kneel in front of him. Alfred studied them curiously and paled slightly when he realized what it was Yao had been carrying: a thick sturdy leather collar which the brunette was taking care to fit snuggly around the other's neck, though what disgusted Alfred most was that Ivan tilted his chin to allow space for the man to complete his work.

Once the end and been pulled through and secured, Yao attached a small padlock to keep it in place, and before closing it, slipped in a link to a metal chain he also had with him. The lock clicked into place and the brunette sat back with a smile. "Want to help me with your new friend?" his caretaker asked, and Ivan obediently got to his feet and followed after him as they approached the wide-eyed American. This was it, his thoughts raced as he considered all the possibilities once again. This was when they were going to start whatever torture they had planned for him.

Ivan eased him up into a sitting position, and Alfred winced from being so stiff and when the part of his side where he had been struck was moved, but froze as the brunette neared him. He kept his eyes trained on Yao with a defiant glare as the other moved to place his own collar around his neck. Yao ignored whatever silent threats Alfred gave him as he tightened the collar and locked it to the other end of the chain that Ivan was attached to. Alfred didn't even try to hide his displeasure at the situation, but watched silently as his captor dug in a pocket to produce a key which he soon learned went to the locks that kept his limbs bound. Legs freed first and Ivan easily flipping him so Yao could reach his arms, Alfred relished in the sudden ability to move his legs and soon his arms as well. His shoulders popped as he was finally able to bring them around to his front and rubbed at the irritated skin around his wrists. Red rings and dark bruises were the reminder of their presence and Alfred frowned at the sight of them.

Yao stepped lightly away without a second glance and after a moment of wondering what was going to happen next he was pulled to his feet by his enormous partner and pulled along behind their… no, there was no way he was going to acknowledge him as a master, owner or anything like that. The crazy man who kidnapped him lead the way up the stairs, and Alfred shakily followed as his circulation tried to pump blood to his previously immobile limbs. His eyes were fixed on the open doorway at the top of the stairs. Up there was his fate, however twisted it was, and he was being lead to it with a chain around his neck. Was this how cows felt when they were walking in to be turned into meat? If so, he may surprise everyone and never touch another hamburger again.

The first thing that surprised him was how normal the upper portion of the house looked. A fairly modern looking kitchen sat to one side comprised of the standard things you would normally see and through to the other side he could see what looked like a living room with at least a couch and a tv. He was at least expecting some sort of torture room or something that screamed 'psychopaths live here' but no such luck.

Off the kitchen was a door that led outside and Yao held it open watching as Ivan easily made his way outside and Alfred was forced to follow though he gave a suspicious glance as he passed Yao. Maybe the torture part happened outside, like in a shed with rusty gardening tools, or, to his sudden horror, out among the trees of the forest that seemed to surround the house. The brunette raised an eyebrow at Alfred's confused expression but didn't say anymore, instead looking past him to his companion. "Ivan, don't go too far. Breakfast will be ready soon and I can't be late for work." Ivan nodded and happily started walking away while Alfred stumbled along behind him, throwing glances over his shoulder as Yao stayed behind and shut the door to the house.

This had to be a trick; some sort of weird trick that they were playing on him. It was only Alfred and Ivan now, without any sort of supervision from their supposed masters. Ivan led the way with confidence into trees and Alfred was reluctant to follow except that the chain that connected them would pull him after his larger companion. His head turned in all directions as he examined his surroundings; perhaps there were cameras? A fence? Guard dogs? They wouldn't just let captives walk freely away from the house, right? Unless… Maybe Ivan really wasn't being held there against his will…

Alfred ceased examining his surroundings to see what the other was doing and quickly turned back around when he realized that he was reliving himself. Shifting as far as his tether would allow and keeping a wary eye on the small house he could still glimpse through the leaves, he decided he should probably do the same, seeing as this may be his only chance. Mind drifting once again, he studied the structure he had spent the night in. It seemed a standard home, mostly lumber and poly siding beneath a shingle roof, and nothing about it seemed foreboding, which didn't seem right in his opinion. Shouldn't the building be giving him the creeps just looking at, not trying to welcome him in for milk and cookies?

Saving that thought for another time, he finished and shook off and went to tuck himself back in when he felt he was being watched; watched by a pair of cheerful amethyst eyes. "Dude!" he flushed and yelled crossly, "Can't you give a guy some privacy?"

Ivan blinked several times and smiled wider. "Are you finished?"

"Since you were watching, you should know…" Alfred muttered back, looking away. A sudden tug on his collar had him choking and looking up to see Ivan moving away through the trees. "Where are taking me?"

"There's someplace I want to show you!" Ivan called playfully over his shoulder, giggling and dragging him forward.

The blonde frowned and tried to dig his heels in to halt the forward momentum. "Unless it's to the nearest police station, I don't want to go with you!" He grabbed the chain in his hands to lessen the strain on his neck and leaned all of his weight against it. Ivan was jerked backwards and spun around confused. "But, you'll like it." Was his explanation as Alfred straightened and tried to adjust the collar so it was no longer strangling him.

"Ivan, what I would like is to leave. Just point the direction and we can go." With slow steps and the biggest smile he could muster, the American approached and motioned in the direction that led away from the house. "Somewhere in that direction maybe? You must know the way to leave. Come on, you and me, buddy, we can go look for other people."

Ivan shook his head so hard his shaggy hair flew around his face. "No, we have to stay close to the house and not be seen."

At hearing this Alfred could have screamed in frustration. "Ivan." He tried again, his smile twitching a little as he tried to hold it, "Why can't we leave?"

"Because Yao says no." Ivan reminded him and went to back away but Alfred would let him.

"They aren't stopping us, and they won't be able to catch up!" The blonde argued trying to keep his voice hushed and throwing a glance back towards the house. No movement at the door or in any of the windows so hopefully they hadn't been spotted yet and could slip away unseen and be a mile away before either one came looking for them.

"No!" Ivan shook a little and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "We will be in trouble if we do and get punished."

"That's if they catch us which they won't if we leave now…" He gave a sharp pull to the chain trying to take over leading and force the other in a new direction, but Ivan leaned away from it. In retaliation Alfred growled and began to pull harder and Ivan snatched the chain in his own hands to pull back. Their gazes caught as they stared each other down and tried to pull the other in the direction they wanted go. Grunting and growling, they merely managed to rub their hands raw against the links of chain rather than make any progress in either direction.

Their tugging match was put on hold when a voice rang out from the house calling Ivan's name. Said man froze at the sound and abruptly changed direction and pulled to head back towards the building nearly sending Alfred sprawling at the suddenness. Reeling and trying to get the leather collar back to where it wouldn't cut off his airway, he tried to put on the brakes to stop Ivan's forward momentum. "Wait! We can still leave!"

Not stopped completely, but significantly slower, the pale man was still trying to get back to the voice calling him. "No! We have to go back. Yao called; we have to come when he calls."

His sneakers slipped on the leaves scattered across the ground and the blonde lost another a few feet in the wrong direction. "No. We. Don't." he grunted, pulling against the chain that connected them with everything he had.

Ivan's name came again, but it sounded more like a question and it made the other pull a little harder in order to get back. "Please, we have to get back." He pleaded and leaned his larger mass against the already taught chain. Alfred groaned in the effort to keep them from going back but if it was a competition in brute strength, Ivan would undoubtedly win just from sheer size. Not that this was going to deter him in the slightest from putting everything he had in to fighting the man's return.

They struggled like this together for another minute and Alfred was losing ground when Ivan's name came for the third time and this time it was more of a demand. The tone of the voice threw Ivan into a panic and he gave a sudden tug to the chain the toppled the American forward and allowed Ivan to pull them the rest of the way out of the trees in clear view of the house. Alfred caught himself and carefully raised his head to see Yao holding the door open and frowning down at him.

Uttering a few curses at the grass, he straightened to follow a groveling Ivan who looked more like a kicked puppy beneath Yao's harsh gaze. The brunette's gave terse instructions for the both of them to get inside which the larger of the two followed as quickly as he could considering he had to drag an unwilling party behind him. Once the door had been shut and the last of Alfred's hopes of escaping this morning were dying down, he pouted and followed his captors as they headed into the kitchen. Ivan was quick to find a seat on the floor and kept his eyes down and began fidgeting again while Yao collected a bowl and cup from one of the counters and handed it to him. "Eat quickly; I have to leave for work soon."

Alfred studied the interaction, and in a brazen move decided he wasn't going to sit on floor which looked like it was expected so opted for leaning against one of the walls. Yao glared up at him as he walked over with another bowl and cup in hand. "Sit." He ordered to which Alfred glared in return and stated clearly, "No."

The brunette rolled his eyes and stepped back. "Ivan." A sharp jerk to his lead and Alfred was yanked down to his knees. Ivan gave him a small apologetic smile as he released the chain and went back to eating which Alfred glared at and then at the bowl that was set on the floor beside him. Yao was tapping an impatient foot while he waited, and the blond sat back and folded his arms. "I'm not hungry." He told the shorter man, attempting to ignore the ill-timed growl to his stomach at the smell of something edible even if the strange-looking soup did not look all that appealing.

Yao frowned at the declaration and sighed looking back to Ivan who sat frozen with his spoon partway between his mouth and the bowl and was watching everything unfold. Brown eyes flicked back to Alfred and held their threatening stare. "Ivan." He ordered and Alfred didn't even have time to react until after he was backhanded by the man's long reach. Rubbing the side of his head and directing his glare towards Ivan instead, Alfred mumbled another string of curses. Yao had crossed his arms and was staring down his nose at the blonde. "You learned quickly last night to listen to orders, so I will not repeat my warning."

Alfred remained defiant for another minute, before relenting to both the threats of being 'punished' and to the groaning of his stomach by snatching up the bowl, determined to ingest everything at an inhuman rate and move past this stand-off. Grimacing at the taste of what he had been given, but enjoying the relief that came with filling his stomach, he had the bowl empty in record time and sat moodily sipping the water out of the cup he was given while attempting to ignore the other two as they carried on their morning routine as though he wasn't there.

"I may be running late tonight." Yao told Ivan while gathering together lunch and searching for keys. "We are supposed to meet with the company that is holding the party and we need to go over the menu for the event. Kiku should be back around dinner time when his shift is over, but you will have to take care of everything until then, okay?" Ivan nodded as he handed over his empty dishes and sat quietly to listen to instructions. Alfred pushed his forward so he and Yao would not need to be any closer than was needed, and tried to steady himself as swayed after trying to sit back up. Apparently he had eaten a little too fast, and was now feeling light-headed.

Yao rinsed the items in the sink and quickly cleaned them. "Don't let your new friend get you into too much trouble today, Ivan." Yao called over his shoulder as he set the dishes aside to dry. "He may not be as annoying as the last one, but I don't trust him so you should be careful." Alfred frowned at the words, but did little more. He couldn't be certain, but he felt like things were listing to one side.

Yao pulled a coat on over top of his slacks and button up shirt and stuffed a black tie into one of his pockets. He smiled as he turned towards Alfred before addressing Ivan again. "You should take your friend downstairs. He looks tired." Alfred became dimly aware of the sound of the chain being dragged across the floor and jumped when he felt Ivan's hands on his arms. The food they gave him must have been bad because the room was moving too fast for him to keep up with.

Somewhere in the distance he thought he heard Yao explaining that Ivan's friend would be quiet for most of the day and the blonde wasn't sure whether he was moving, or the house was moving beneath him. More words from Yao, but now he couldn't completely keep up with what was being said, only that he felt dizzy and he couldn't keep his eyes open. He fought the urge as best he could, but lost consciousness somewhere between the kitchen and the bottom of the stairs.


	4. Chapter 4

Alfred shook his head slowly willing whatever fog that had crept into his mind to leave. He scrunched his eyes while he tried to focus on who he was and was glad to least be warm and comfortable wherever he was. His mouth felt like cotton though and he grimaced at the uncomfortable feeling, sticking out his tongue and trying to lick his lips in a rather clumsy manner. The pillow his head was resting on giggled. "You look silly."

It took some time, but Alfred put all of his efforts into getting his eyes to open, and when they finally did, he was able to dimly register Ivan's face peering down at him. His head lolled as he tried to push himself away, but his arms flopped rather uselessly and only elicited more giggles. Realizing that this was getting him nowhere, he held off struggles in favor of trying to get his mouth to work again. "…What…?" he tried in a whisper, letting his eyes rest closed again.

"Are you still tired? You should sleep more." Ivan encouraged, readjusting his hold on the smaller blonde so that he was more comfortably reclined in his lap.

Alfred frowned and sloppily shook his head. "No…" he forced out through his dry throat and tried to get his eyes to focus on his surroundings. "…Where are…?"

"We are at home and our owners are at work still, but if you woke up than that means they should be home soon." Ivan cheerily replied, smiling widely.

Alfred's blue eyes blinked slowly as he processed the words given to him. When the last bits fit together he sighed and tried to recall what had happened. They had been outside, then, instead of escaping like he wanted to, Ivan had dragged him back inside the house. But what had happened after that? He tried to roll out of Ivan's arms but only succeeded in turning around in them and resting his head on the other's arm. "What happened…?"

"Did you forget? Sometimes people forget, but that's okay." Ivan reassured him by stroking his hair. Alfred tried to fight it, but shaking his head around was making it hurt and he was feeling queasy from the sudden movements. Breathing deeply and trying to remain calm, the blonde let his eyes close again while he focused. "Forget?" he took another shaky breath and licked his lips again. "What did I forget?"

Ivan continued the soft strokes to the top of his head, which Alfred found not completely terrible even if they were unwanted, but didn't answer the question. With a sigh, he decided to try a new approach. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Since breakfast." Alfred frowned at what he heard. He couldn't recall having breakfast since when he was back at the university cafeteria, his last day there before being pulled out of his normal college life. "Did we have breakfast today?"

"We did and yours made you tired." Alfred let his eyes roll in thought. He ate food, that food made him fall asleep which meant…? His brow creased as he tried to figure it out. Food didn't normally make him tired, so what was it? "Wait, was there something in my food?"

"Something like what?" he could hear his friend ask. He swallowed thickly and tried to turn back around to see what Ivan was doing. "Something that made me fall asleep? Like drugs, maybe?"

Ivan nodded somberly. "Yao doesn't like leaving new pets at home because he is afraid they will cause trouble when he is at work, so he makes them sleep after breakfast."

Alfred studied the other's face just to check that he wasn't lying and then closed his eyes again to await the rest of the drowsiness to wear off. Drugs would explain the missing portions of his memory and why he wanted nothing more than to sleep for another few hours, even if it meant being curled up with Ivan. At least he was fairly comfortable to lean against and sighed as he tried not to consider what else was in store for him later.

It took time, but his mind eventually cleared and allowed his thoughts to come much easier. Alfred would occasionally glance up to study his companion with a critical eye as he thought. He couldn't understand who this person was and how he was connected to the two upstairs. Ivan was easily three times the size of either of their captors but still followed their orders. He was handed weapons; he was allowed to be alone outside! If he didn't wish to stay, then there was very little that should able to hold someone like that back. His thoughts continued to churn, but they kept returning to a similar conclusion: Ivan was definitely one of them and not to be trusted.

An undetermined amount of time past where he rested and may have dozed off a few times before there were sounds again above them. Alfred sat up quickly shaking off Ivan's arms and focusing on the door again. Someone was home and he wanted to be ready for what came next.

No one came right away and he was starting to get antsy beside Ivan who was musing quietly inside his own head. When the door did finally open, it was Kiku who remained at the top and called down to them. "If you would please make your way upstairs." He commanded and disappeared out of sight. Alfred was on his feet and was ready to fight his way out of the house if he needed to, even if it meant dragging Ivan behind him by the chain that still connected them.

They both made their way upstairs and found Kiku waiting for them in the kitchen with a stern expression beside a chair he pulled away from its table. A small flicker of his eyes were the only gesture he made to it when he gave the order to sit. Alfred hesitated to move any closer beneath the dark glare of his captor even after Ivan curled up contently on the floor leaving just enough length of their tether for him to reach the chair. Steps slow and cautious, and watching the other for any signs of movement, he edged his way closer to the seat. He may have been a full head above the dark haired man, but that didn't mean he could completely let his guard down. And especially not while Ivan was still in the room.

As he sat back into the seat, a cold hand snagged his wrist and Alfred tried to pull it away as slender fingers pressed against his bruised skin but it didn't break the hold. Alfred waited to see what would happen, but Kiku ignored him and stared at his watch for a minute before releasing him and prying open an eye. "How well can you see without your glasses?"

Alfred tried to tip his head away as he was examined. "Well enough. Stuff really far away can get a little blurry, but I really only need them for reading."

Kiku nodded thoughtfully as he seemed satisfied for whatever he was looking for in Alfred's eyes and went back to his hands, picking each one up individually and studying the marks left on his skin. "Then I won't worry about giving them back to you."

"You ever going to tell me why I'm here? Or what you want from me?" Alfred demanded, staring defiantly into the smaller man's face as the other slowly lifted his head to address him.

Kiku didn't reply straight away, and Alfred held his breath as he awaited a response. Perhaps starting something in the same room they kept knives was not one of his better ideas, but he held his ground on this. Besides, it held some potential that it might ease his mind against the flow imagined situations or, after another moment of thought made him realize, make his fears a reality.

"I believe I told you last night." was the final reply as Kiku dropped his wrists.

Alfred breathed in an effort to collect himself. "That didn't answer anything. What does 'pet' even mean?"

Kiku seemingly ignored the question in favor of giving him another command. "Lift your shirt."

"What? No!" Alfred balked, turning completely rigid in his chair. This was scenario number 8 of what was going to happen to him in his stay in this house and he did not like the outcomes of that one. They generally ended in fairly uncomfortable images.

Kiku silently regarded him with a small frown adorning his face and Alfred became suddenly concerned that he was about to receive another one of those 'punishments' for his outburst, but it wasn't like he was willingly going to let them carry out scenario 8. "I would like to look at your side." the dark-haired man explained to him in a terse tone, "I assume from the way you are acting nothing was broken, but I would still like to see for myself." Still, the American hesitated to follow the direction and the man continued in a quiet yet authoritative voice, "'Pet' means that you are to follow my commands and do as you are told. You will perform the tasks assigned to you and behave as you are asked. Not following instructions results in pain. Do you understand all of this or is it not simple enough for you?" Alfred gave a short, quick, and (though you would never hear him say it) fearful nod that caused Kiku to narrow his eyes. "Then let me see your side."

Examination completed and he presumed he had been declared healthy enough, Alfred was presented with a new set of clothes before being assigned tasks for the evening. Alfred listened absent-mindedly when he realized that they were basically the normal household chores and rubbed the fabric of what he had been given through his fingers when he lost interest. A pair of sweatpants and a light top, both made of thin fabric, and of a dull boring color that was somewhere between grey and blue. It suddenly struck him as he thought about it, it was probably a similar version to what Ivan wore, but newer and less covered in cellar dirt and took a quick glance at his companion who was listening attentively to orders. He wrinkled his nose at the matching garb, since it looked more like hospital attire for long-term patients. Just to confirm, he lifted the material to his nose and sniffed only having to pull it away. Yup, smelled like a hospital and its weird mix of cleaners that always seemed far too strong. He hated hospitals and it wasn't sitting well with him that this was his only option for clothing.

Kiku dismissed them from the kitchen so he could start dinner and Alfred snapped back to attention when Ivan began to half drag him out of the room by the neck. Furious, he pulled back on the chain in retaliation earning the curious look given to him over a large shoulder. Ivan gave him a cheery smile and continued forward, oblivious to the disgruntled glare that was boring into his back. While the other was keen to get started, Alfred hung back and watched with disdain as items were sorted or dusted.

Now that he was being effectively ignored, Alfred decided to seize this new opportunity and snuck his free hand up to his throat and traced along the leather to discern what was there. The pads of his fingers circled the latch and giving him the mental image of what lay just below his chin while his eyes never left Ivan's back. When his skin brushed against the metal of the lock, he bit his lip while feeling how it held everything together and secured him to the ash blonde. Following his complete investigation, he wrapped his hand around it and gave an experimental tug and found himself frustrated when it would not give.

As quietly as he could, Alfred knelt to the floor to place his bundle of clothes on the ground and froze after the chain clinked against the flooring and sounded far too loud in his own ears. If Ivan had heard it, he didn't seem too interested in what the other could be doing. Breathing a sigh in relief, both hands snaked their way upwards and began trying to work himself free. Anything would do, whether prying open the clasp, tearing the leather, or loosening the strap enough to slip the whole thing over his head. But as his hands worked, nothing seemed to be happening and as he became more desperate, the American's eyes slipped from their careful watch of Ivan's back and he tried to tilt his head to see what was happening just out of his line of sight.

A quiet cough sounded behind him that caused him to still in terror. Moving slowly, Alfred turned his head just far enough to register Kiku looking down at him where he was crouching guiltily with both of his hands still clutching the collar. The dark eyes of his supposed master regarded him quietly, staring at him for a long minute where nothing but panic registered inside Alfred's head. The silence grew while Alfred awaited some sort of verdict (and knowing them it would end in a bruise for this) and Alfred couldn't be sure, but he may have started to cower a bit beneath that reprimanding gaze. Finally, after what seemed as double the amount of time it had actually been, Kiku's gaze flickered behind the blonde and he gave a subtle nod before turning away to walk back into the kitchen. "Dinner is ready." he announced as he disappeared around the corner.

Alfred tried to breathe as his heart hammered inside his chest and the tension from being caught dissipated from his muscles. A slight smirk formed on his lips as he made to stand up to walk into the kitchen after his dinner and feeling safe in the knowledge that he had somehow managed to get away with the (albeit failed) escape attempt, but wasn't able to rise to his feet before Ivan's fist connected with his head and sent him off-balance. Now in a disorganized heap on the floor, anger welled up as the platinum blonde stood calmly above him and offered a hand to assist him in standing but with a growl Alfred knocked it aside. Balancing on his feet and ignoring the throbbing pain in the side of his head, the American glared into those ridiculous violet eyes while Ivan only smiled in return.

When the two entered the kitchen they found Kiku waiting for them with two more bowls of food; some sort of rice dish Alfred couldn't identify and he stared at it suspiciously rather than eating it. As the short Asian went to hand him a glass of water he raised an eyebrow at the blonde's reaction but said nothing more as Alfred stared up at him. "Is there something in this?" he asked dryly, poking at the contents with his spoon.

"No, that's what Yao does." Kiku responded, leaving the two alone to their meal. Alfred examined everything thoroughly, carefully parting his food to search for anything out of place, sniffing it and then letting only the barest of touches on his tongue as he attempted to determine if was safe. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and he finally took his first bite only then noticing Ivan watching him with a bemused smile.

Alfred scowled and pulled the spoon from his mouth. "Something funny?"

Ivan nodded. "Kiku doesn't make you sleep."

With a roll of his eyes he dug into his meal. "Good to know not everyone does." Ivan laughed and finished the rest of his food waiting eagerly for the other to as well. Alfred couldn't help but watch the strange man out of the corner of his eye. Who exactly was Ivan to these people? Was he coerced into staying? He did he join them voluntarily? He shook his head as he scraped the last of his dinner up.

Kiku returned shortly after to pick up the empty bowls and release them outside where he gave them a strict warning at it only being for ten minutes. They followed a roughly similar routine as they had that morning and Ivan had to drag an unwilling Alfred back out from among the trees until they were within sight of the house again where he sighed and walked slowly back inside to finish what they had started before dinner. Kiku was in another room out of sight and Ivan had been tasked with placing dishes into the dishwasher. Alfred watched from the far end on the chain with narrowed eyes as Ivan carefully stacked bowls on the wire mesh tray. "Is this it then?"

Ivan looked up with curiosity. "What?"

The blonde simply grew more rigid and narrowed his eyes further. "They just need someone to clean for them?"

Ivan blinked several times and smiled as he returned to the dishes. "No, we do other things too."

"Like what?" Alfred spat out.

Ivan hummed for a moment as he considered his answer. "Sometimes Yao goes on walks and I get to go with him or we just spend time together here at home."

The soft clinking of silverware being placed into the machine continued but Alfred couldn't let it go. "So what? You spend your time cleaning things for them and beating whoever else is unfortunate enough to be forced to live here? What's in it for you? Why do you do it?"

Ivan looked stunned at the question and his brow furrowed in confusion. "Yao takes care of me so I have to do what he says." he responded tentatively, fidgeting with the plate that he held in his hands.

"That's a stupid reason to do that!" Alfred argued, furious that Ivan would give such a lame and simple excuse for his behaviour. At the very least he could admit the real reason he willing administered pain. Deep down the sicko probably enjoyed it.

Ivan became more visibly nervous at the American's words and shifted back and forth on his feet. "N-no, that's what you should do when someone is nice to you. Listen to me-"

"No, you listen to me." Alfred snarled and gave a sudden jerk to the chain at their necks. In a moment that seemed to pass by both too quickly and slowly the abruptness of Alfred's action off balanced the other who only just managed to catch himself in time but meant he lost his grip of the plate that had been in his hands. It shattered across the tiled flooring of the kitchen with a loud crash that seemed to echo through the otherwise still house.

Both parties froze as the last of the sound died away and silence filled its place. Every single one of Alfred's senses were on edge with lack of sound that was otherwise being filled with the pounding of his blood in his ears. It didn't help when Kiku appeared silently in the kitchen with a slight frown in place to observe the scene, as he could hardly be heard moving about the house and it shocked the blonde with the added body to the room.

Dark brown eyes scanned the broken ceramic pieces and moved onto examining each of their faces in turn and finally settled on Ivan's. "Yao will hear of this." he said simply and Alfred noted how much paler he became at that single statement.

Kiku supervised them while the rest of the dishes were finished and the broken shards were picked up, and Alfred even lent his aid to the task even if it was mostly out of fear. The smile normally present on Ivan's face was gone, and Alfred was quickly learning that when that happened nothing good would follow. His palms were beginning to sweat while they finished up and Ivan had yet to return to normal.

The door to the cellar was opened for them and Kiku fetched the clothes Alfred had left behind earlier. They were once again thrust into his arms with more of a silent demand that they be worn. He wasn't about to argue, considering the added fabric would cover the skin otherwise exposed by his running gear and provide a little more warmth, but also because at the same time Ivan slunk past his head down and shoulders hunched. The sight was unnerving and it crossed his mind that he didn't want to add anything more to whatever was coming later that had the biggest person in the house worried.

Door closed and darkness once again surrounding them, Alfred found a spot on the floor near to, but still out of reach of Ivan and pulled his bundle of cloth tight against his chest. "Ivan?" he tried calling out into the darkness and received no reply, "What's happening?"

Ivan remained silent and eventually the blonde realized he wasn't going to get an answer out of him. This left him with nothing to do but to wait in pitch black and silence for the return of Yao and whatever punishment was coming. Yeah, he could figure out that much. That's how these people seemed to work; do what you're told, don't mess up, but if you do...

There was one thing he could do while they waited and he fumbled around with his clothes trying to orient them. After hissing at Ivan to not look his way and hearing nothing in reply to acknowledge if the man understood him or not, he started the awkward process of attempting to dress in the dark. His legs kept getting tangled up and at one point he found he was trying to put both of his feet into the same side but eventual got it right and sighed when found the shirt that went with it. The new collar/leash combo he was still modeling wouldn't allow to change shirts, so he tugged it overtop of what he already had on and let the chain dangle out from underneath. Not the most comfortable, but the added material felt nice against his cool skin.

And then they waited. Time held no meaning and the stillness of everything was just making him more anxious. It wasn't helping that his mind was comparing the entire situation to a horror film. Except this wasn't zombies or aliens, these were people. Crazy people, sure, and they could probably compete with Norman Bates in psychological problems, but still people. And how did one become the hero of the story when they were locked in the basement of a house in the middle of nowhere?_  
_

You didn't, that's how. Eventually the psycho comes down stairs and murders you. Unless, of course, they are already down there with you.

It was almost a relief when they heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, but it brought the current situation back tenfold. Alfred's teeth worried over his lip as he strained his ears to listen. Where Kiku made hardly any noise, if you were paying attention you could pick up a few subtle clues as to where Yao was. The male had made it into another room of the house before he was stopped and began to argue. Kiku couldn't be heard, giving Yao the appearance of a one sided conversation; even if the words were muffled it was his voice that was distinct.

Silence pervaded once again shortly thereafter and they were back to waiting in the stillness. Everything was starting to drive him mad: the constant waiting, the loss of sight, and the unknown of what was going to happen next. It frustrated him to no end.

Eventually the door was pulled open and light flickered on again. Alfred blinked against the sensory intrusion and rubbed at his eyes as heard Yao descend the steps. The man looked weary and rubbed at his temple as he crossed the room. "I've had a long day, Ivan. No more trouble tonight."

Alfred noted the slight nod in his peripheral that was Ivan's acknowledgement but kept his focus trained on his captor as he circled the stairs and picked up one of the restraints from where it had been left that morning. "I don't want any trouble out you of either." Yao added, directing a pointed glare Alfred's way and started walking over. Alfred shifted back as the older male approached and the man sighed. "Will you sit still? I don't have the patience to deal with you tonight."

Alfred let his eyes flicker to the restraints and then back up to Yao's face which only annoyed him further. "Either sit still, or I will have Ivan knock you unconscious and I'll just put these on anyway."

Now was the moment for making decisions. Every part of him wanted to fight his way out: out of the chains, out of the cellar and out of the house. But how much was it worth it to struggle at this juncture? Yao was clearly in no mood for anything other than compliance and adding head trauma into the mix wouldn't bode well for his health. Though, could a concussion lessen whatever they had planned for him? No, perhaps it would only make it worse, and especially since escape was still an option in his mind he would need to be thinking clearly. Maybe it would be better if he just braced for the future and face it like a man. Or Batman. No, more realistic for him should be Indiana Jones. He could face anything so long as it didn't involve snakes.

He resigned himself to letting Ivan pull his arms behind his back and Yao locking them together quietly and without any really resistance. The chain was unclipped from his collar but the infuriating piece of leather was left in place. The other end was also removed from Ivan who by now was shaking slightly and refusing to meet anyone's gaze. A sick feeling was forming in the pit of Alfred's stomach as he kept his eyes trained on the brunette as he put the chain beneath the stairs and returned to them again.

Only a small whimper slid from Ivan's throat when he was instructed to lie back and Alfred's eyes widened when Yao produced a syringe from his pocket. This was really bad, and he was sure whatever the clear liquid was that was inside the plastic device wouldn't be pleasant. The cap popped off the needle and not a word was said as Yao pinched a fold of skin around Ivan's middle and pierced the skin. Alfred sat transfixed as he watched everything unfold, nerves reaching their breaking point with wondering what was happening. Ivan's eyes were squeezed shut as the plunger empty everything and was removed and Yao stood up while recapping the syringe.

Now he was on high alert waiting for his turn against the mysterious substance but another syringe didn't appear. This didn't calm him any as only feet away Ivan had curled on his side with his arms wrapped around him and was starting to breath heavier. Alfred's heart was racing at new speeds as the brunette left them and ascended the stairs. This threw him off. Did Yao have to go get more of Chemical X?

The door was shut and the light turned off but he only minimally relaxed. He wasn't safe yet by any stretch of the imagination but he did throw a wary glance back towards his companion when Yao didn't immediately return. It was too dark to really see what was happening, but he could tell by the noises that it appeared that other was twitching or possibly writhing on the ground and sobbing softly. And that was a sound that practically broke him.

With some difficulty, Alfred managed to get to his knees and crawl closer trying to call out the large man's name and not really getting any sort of response. He didn't know what to do. Whatever it was that Yao had given the other was clearing causing him large amounts of pain and there really didn't seem like there was any way to stop or lessen it. But why would Ivan's 'caretaker' do this to him?

The answer nearly made him sick when he realized it. The plate. That stupid plate that broke and Kiku's words that had inspired terror in the man they should have otherwise feared. And it was completely his fault. He was the reason that Ivan was like this and he was completely appalled with himself. Hey, he wasn't a monster and didn't want to purposefully hurt other people if they didn't deserve it.

"Ivan, I'm so sorry." He whispered, wondering if the other could even hear him through everything. His words felt hollow in the light of someone else's suffering and he suddenly felt determined to somehow make it up. Crawling forward, he began to search the floor looking for the blanket Ivan had given him the night before as it was the only one he knew where to find. Once he had found it, it proved to be a difficult task to drag back with your arms caught behind your back, but Alfred eventually managed it and pulled it so that the majority of it covered the other's large frame. And then he sat back and watched, waiting until the sobs died down to small sniffles and eventually stopped altogether.

The house was otherwise quiet and Alfred assumed that the two upstairs had finally gone to bed. He shivered against the chill that had settled in from the night and, after a quick internal debate, opted to rest on the ground beside Ivan; close enough to share warmth, but not so close to be spooning. A guy's gotta have his limits.

Neither one of them said anything about what happened and Alfred secretly wished that Ivan hadn't heard him apologize before. It wouldn't change anything, and it would definitely not stop Ivan from beating him to a pulp next time he was ordered to.

_AN: I really just want to make a quick note about what happened with Ivan. Mostly for my own sanity's sake. And my browser history is full of searches on chemical torture (so if I ever mysteriously disappear...)._

_After doing a lot of searching on what they do to people in interrogations I came to the conclusion that most films and tv shows are making things up when they administer some sort of 'mystery drug' that causes victims to feel pain. Most of the time for that sort of thing in real life, they'll give you something like LSD and make you psychotic. Should have seen that coming since throwing people into dark rooms and leaving them alone to wonder what is going to happen to them is another common form of psychological torture (hmm, sound familiar?)._

_But obviously, that wasn't good enough for me. I wanted pain so I completely abandoned my torture method route and wandered back to the thing I love to study: science. Yeah, I started looking into pain experimentation._

_Now I know that what I looked at is used in mice, but being the person that I am I figure I can apply it to humans as well. There are two tests I mostly focused on, but couldn't really decide which was better to use, so left it fairly ambiguous. These were the writhe test and formalin test. These are very real tests that are used on lab animals though I tend to side on the "you had better have a very good reason for using them, especially the first one." Both involve injecting a semi-harmful substance into a subject and then measuring how much they react. In the formalin test, it's usually into a foot and subjects usually spend their time licking or chewing at their paw. But the other, it's injected into the tissue that lines the cavity of your abdomen and what happens is how it gets its name. Subjects will writhe on the floor after its given to them._

_Feel free to look any of this up._

_I probably won't delve any further into exactly what happened; no chemicals will be named or anything especially since I doubt Alfred would find out, so this is really just added info. Just wanted to share I guess. And I feel bad about making Yao and Kiku evil this time... I kinda like them... Well, I like everybody, but still..._


	5. Chapter 5

Alfred crouched low to the ground next to Ivan and had to brush the chain aside so it wouldn't dangle into the water. Ivan had finally managed to convince him to come out to his favorite place: a small pond that was barely more than a puddle and they were now looking hopefully into the murky depths for any signs of wildlife. There shouldn't be too much to see though; the last rays of summer were fading quickly and starting to give way to the coolness of autumn.

That thought spurred Alfred into counting how long he had been there. Prying up a finger for each day while he counted in his head he went through all the days since he had been there and eventually stopped at just past a week. He let his hand fall limply at his side and closed his eyes to try to relax and focus on the present. Even if by now his family had realized this wasn't some practical joke or one of his phases, the sadistic portion of his brain began to wonder how much longer they would look for him before they gave him up for dead. And when that happened, he really would be, wouldn't he?

Alfred tried to carefully rub at one of his eyes when it suddenly stung with tears at the reality of his situation. Although healing, his face was still a shade of green and yellow and was still slightly sore. On the second day he had refused to eat the breakfast served to him and instead cast a glare at Yao for feeding him something drugged. Although noble in his own mind, it had resulted in Ivan pinning him down and mercilessly attacking his face until Yao had pulled a syringe and forced him asleep without anything to eat. At least that time he had awoken without memory loss and could remember exactly why his face was swollen.

Kiku had nothing to comment when he returned home, except to glance at Yao and do a quick check to assure nothing was broken. And when he hadn't received much for dinner as well, it made Alfred more compliant to accept his food, if anything but to stop the growling pain in his stomach.

He wished he could say he had gotten used to being forced asleep during the days his owners worked, but it was offsetting his internal rhythm and meant he was often awake for most of the night with only his own thoughts and Ivan's gentle breathing to comfort him. His arms were always forced together at his back during these times and he had to accept being near to Ivan in the evenings when he realized there had only been one blanket there for them to use. What they were going to do in the winter months he wasn't sure, but he hoped since Ivan had likely survived the past ones he could as well.

Alfred froze when the full impact of his thoughts reached him. Had he really been considering what would happen here in a few months time? Not possible, he was going to be out of here sooner than that.

What was becoming familiar was to wake up from his pharmaceutical slumber cradled in the arms of the platinum blonde. Although he still wasn't completely accepting of the arrangement, he had added it to what he was starting to consider normal routine. Eat a roofied breakfast then be cuddled like a life-size teddy bear.

Still, nothing compared to the forced bathing experience. It had happened on one Kiku's days off and he wrinkled his nose at them and had Ivan drag him into the bathroom to wash. Unfortunately this meant his hands would have to be fastened together once his shirt had been pulled over his head. Alfred had just stared as Kiku detached the chain from the two of them and left them alone. At first he had been confused as to how he was meant to complete a shower when his wrists were bound together, but Ivan had stepped in an answered that question pretty quickly. In what easily ranked as one of the more humiliating situations in his life, Alfred grumbled quietly beneath the running water while the other helped to lather soap into his hair.

There was one key moment during that afternoon that stood out in his mind besides the degrading exposure. Once his clothing had come off, he could clearly see all the marks that were accumulating on his skin. Bruises of various shades and shapes littered his body and stood out against the light tan of his flesh: more against his sides as that first experience with the pipe was not going to be his last, a large hand print around his bicep, and splotches on his legs when Ivan kicked him for calling Yao a few derogatory names.

He had even managed to catch his reflection in the mirror at one point. One eye was dark and his lip was split from the punishment he received for not eating, a bold reminder of the harsher nature of the same person who at the time had been gently towelling him dry. It felt like an oxymoron to call anything Ivan did as gentle or caring, but until he was ordered to his caresses were nothing short of an attempt at comforting.

Alfred drifted out of his musings when they landed on the topic of Ivan. The other was still content with examining the pond with the extra time they had to be outside this morning and Alfred licked his lips while he considered asking the question that had bothered him for the past week. "Ivan," he called and gained the platinum blonde's attention, "the last person who was here… What can you tell me about them?"

Ivan tilted his head a little at the question as he thought. "What do you want to know?"

Alfred's gaze slipped down to a leaf he decided to absent mindedly play with in his fingers. "Who were they? What was their name?"

A minute of contemplation and the large man leaned back and pulled his feet beneath him. "Gilbert and he had red eyes."

Alfred nodded slowly while trying to memorize the name. "What was he like?"

"He was always loud" the other supplied while letting his eyes drift off into the distance, "and it made Yao angry a lot." Alfred quieted while he listened carefully hoping this would give him something to use to aid his escape. Ivan rocked back and forth a little as he thought and remembered the previous pet. "He would always say he was too awesome to belong to anyone and never listened to the rules."

The American swallowed as he tried to form the next painful question. "How long was he here? You know, before…?"

Ivan frowned as his sweet smile slipped from his face. "I… I don't know. Not as long as some of the others."

"Others?" Alfred choked out, staring at the other's eyes even when they didn't meet his own. "How many have there been?"

This time it took a bit longer for Ivan to reply and Alfred could feel the tension starting to accumulate in his stomach at the number of people who had likely passed through this place."Kiku has had many pets. He always seems to have trouble with finding the right one." The other informed him while fidgeting with the edge of his shirt.

Alfred lightly chewed on his lip at the information. "What about Yao?" he finally ventured when Ivan fell silent again. "How many pets has Yao had?"

"I've been the only pet Yao's had." Ivan's voice was little more than a whisper and his violet eyes grew sad. "He says I'm the only pet he has ever needed."

Alfred nodded a bit, wondering if he should even ask the next question but unable to stop his mouth from blurting it out. "They're not buried in the cellar we sleep in, right?"

Ivan shook his head, "No," and Alfred felt a small amount of relief until Ivan pointed somewhere away from them. "Over there."

The wind rustled through the leaves surrounding them, still mostly green though a few were starting to fade to yellow and fall from their branches. A squirrel quietly ran by, tracking a long course to avoid the outsiders seated on the forest floor, and high above them a flock of small birds darted past. Neither seemed to want break the uneasy silence and Alfred took to playing with the leaf by his feet again leaving Ivan to stare off in the distance. He did dare a glance up to note the far off look on the other's face. It was rare, but at times like these Alfred was starting to think that perhaps there was something more to Ivan; that maybe he was more human than what he gave him credit for.

Eventually their free time had to come to end and they were summoned back to the house. Alfred stifled a yawn as he shuffled along behind wondering what it was that Yao would have planned for them today. He had given up trying to escape by force when they were outside in the past day or so. It was obviously not getting him anywhere and he just needed to find that one loop-hole in their routines that would allow him to make a break for it.

This had also become another normality in his day to day life: when either Yao or Kiku did not have to go in for work, Alfred wasn't fed the usual sleep-inducing breakfast and was forced to stay awake during the day doing the same tasks that they were regularly assigned. It felt like torture to remain awake for so long when he hadn't been able to sleep much the night before. His eyelids would droop while he deftly followed Ivan around and clumsily attempted to help as best he could while one of their captors were near to avoid any more punishments. But even then it wasn't much of an effort, and he was always grateful when they were left alone and Ivan gave him the reprieve to sleep while he carried on. This often meant simply curling up on the floor, but it wasn't much different then were he slept the rest of the time anyway.

And the two people that owned them, Alfred was learning, were very different in what they seemed to want out of them. It could be easily noted in how they behaved that evening when everyone had gathered in the small living room for a quiet night in. Ivan had been allowed to sit on the couch while Alfred had been confined to the floor. Unable to go too much further thanks to that tether at his neck, he could only manage to go as far as the beside the coffee table where he rested his head on his arms hoping that this wasn't cause for trouble. Yao sat down on the couch with a book in hand and reclined against Ivan's larger frame, and after a bit of shuffling around, they both found a comfortable position and then were silent beyond the occasional page turn. Alfred watched them for a while doing his best to not disturb the calm though he was far too tired to make a fuss at this hour.

I seemed almost domestic what was happening on the couch and he figured it could have been mistaken as such to an outside observer. With the exception of the collar he remarked dryly to himself. Hell, he had witnessed enough cuddling on his couch at home through the years and this was pretty much what it looked like.

Alfred grew tired of watching after several minutes. They really weren't doing anything that would entertain him and he turned his head the other way and resettled it on his arms to watch Kiku. His dark-haired owner was a mystery as to what he wanted out him. It had been impressed upon him thus far that any sort of contact would be kept at the barest minimum and even then only when absolutely necessary. It seemed strange then that Kiku would need a pet if he wasn't gaining the same connection that Yao was or that Ivan was easily fulfilling the chores assigned by himself.

Alfred continued to ponder the situation, letting his eyes narrow in concentration at the other man. Kiku kept his head down easily absorbed in whatever paperwork he had brought with him and his face didn't betray what was happening in his inner thoughts. Alfred couldn't even be sure if the man was tired from a long day at work though he assumed he was. Kiku was a hard man to read which only seemed to leave Alfred curious and buzzing with unanswered questions.

There really wasn't much of anything else to distract him from continuing to stare and letting his mind wander. Who knew how much longer the quiet 'family' time would last and Alfred was feeling exhausted. His eyes began to spend more time closed than open and he relaxed on the table surrendering to his most pressing need.

But at one point his eyes opened to find Kiku no longer looking at his work pages. Instead his focus went behind Alfred and though his expression remained blank something still seemed different in the quiet man's demeanor that Alfred couldn't quite place. His posture was the same, only his head was raised slightly and nothing seemed to have changed in the way his eyebrows or mouth were set. But Alfred couldn't shake the feeling that something was happening without a word, so he studied the man attempting to figure it out.

A full minute passed before Alfred thought he saw something: a small glint of something in the other's eyes that had he not been watching so intently he likely would have missed altogether. Not that it was helping him to figure out what was going through the other's mind, but it still caught his attention. And if he were to go by his gut's reaction to it, it wasn't a good thing.

Without warning, Kiku's eyes slid over and met Alfred's straight on and he went completely rigid. Intuition said it would be in his best interest if he was to look away or act in some way submissive, but he found himself transfixed and staring back with wide eyes. Dread flooded his chest as he awaited some sort of response and not sure how to interpret the latest development. Fuck, he couldn't even tell if the guy was angry or not.

Kiku regarded him for another minute, possibly oblivious to the alarms going off inside the blonde's head and then bowed his head over his paperwork and dismissed everyone in the room again. Alfred couldn't ignore that as a sign he had been forgiven and quickly turned his head back around to look at Ivan. The other was still curled up quietly on the couch with his owner and his eyes were resting closed and oblivious to everything that had just happened. He shot another look back to Kiku to confirm he hadn't moved before he could completely settle his head against his arms again to await his heart to slow down from its sudden adrenaline rush.

He couldn't even remember when he had fallen asleep, only that suddenly Ivan was shaking him awake and Yao was ushering them back towards the stairs. Alfred yawned and tried to make sure he didn't trip in his drowsy state as they both made their way down the stairs, but he cast one more look back noting how Yao held the door and followed behind them and how Kiku paid them hardly any attention at all.

It was all strange, his tired mind concluded as he and Ivan headed to their usual corner and turned so Yao could put the familiar restraints in place. The brunette hadn't even made it to the stairs before Alfred had flopped onto the floor and attempted to find a comfortable position on his side. What he needed to do was find that way out, he reminded himself as Ivan draped the blanket half over him and curled up underneath it as well just as the lights were turned out and he was dimly aware of the door being closed. A wild plan of escape involving him having to swim across a tank of sharks was the last thing he thought of as he finally fell asleep and his subconscious tried to wiggle closer to the source of warmth.

_AN: Meh... Why am I so creepy?_


	6. Chapter 6

Alfred tried one more time to count the days since his arrival but just like yesterday and the day before he couldn't recall. They had all started to blend together with the similar routines and there was hardly anything to distinguish the individual days. What was the date? Were they in October? Or had Halloween past by already? It had been September when he had been abducted. Had he been there for only a month? That didn't seem long enough.

Ivan was cradling him gently again having woken up not that long ago on yet another day of living in this house. There hadn't been much to say when he opened his eyes and met the violet ones watching him same as always. It wasn't unfamiliar and he had decided to just rest for a while longer against Ivan's chest.

At least a month you say? "I wonder if they still think about me." he mumbled quietly.

Ivan looked down and tilted his head. "Who thinks about you?"

Alfred kept his eyes looking away, not even sure he could meet the other's gaze and keep it together. "My brother, father... and whatever it is Francis is..." There wasn't any response and he turned his head to find out why and laughed at Ivan's confused face. "Francis is our neighbor and...? I don't know. Uncle? Pseudo-father? He's been there since we were kids and helped raise us."

Ivan said a quiet "oh" and Alfred couldn't help the small smile that crept up his face. "I suppose he counts as family."

Ivan's grip on his arms got subtlety tighter. "What are they like?"

"My family?" he chuckled a little, "Well, there's Matthew, my brother. We are twins but he's older by an hour and reminds me of that fact all the time. Says it makes him more responsible." Alfred rolled his eyes. "But otherwise we get along most of the time. Our dad can be a real tight ass a lot of the time, but I just figure that's because he's British."

"British..." Ivan repeated, "means he is from Britain?"

Alfred gave him a quizzical look. "Yeah, except it's called the United Kingdom more officially and technically he's from England. He can get upset if you imply the possibility that he could be Scottish or Welsh."

The platinum blonde simply nodded and let the American continue. "My dad's not all bad though. His cooking is terrible, but he has done pretty well taking care of us on his own. Probably hasn't been the easiest..." he admitted a bit sheepishly.

"That sounds... nice." Ivan stated slowly, looking away.

Alfred hummed in agreement. "That's likely why Francis stepped in when we moved to the States and next door to him. I think he was afraid we would all starve from only having tea and scones to eat and started turning up around dinner time with enough food to feed an army. I think he spends more time in our house than his now."

Ivan seemed to contemplate this for a while before looking back down. "You moved to America?"

Alfred nodded. "Yeah, from Canada."

"So you are Canadian." The platinum blonde reasoned.

"No." Alfred frowned and poked the larger in the chest with a finger. "My mom was American so that means her kids are too." he shrugged at the end of his perfectly logical explanation. "That's how the rules work."

Ivan shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense."

Alfred pouted. "You sound like Matt."

He continued to fume in silence at his nationality being questioned for a while because at the very least it was something to think about. Something that was not related to his current situation or what could happen in the near future. It still rested in the back of his mind that at any time his keepers could tire of him or decide that he was no longer suitable or needed and he too would join the rest of the rejected pets.

"Your mother..." Ivan started, looking away again, "You haven't said anything about her."

The American bit his lip briefly to buy some time before answering. "That's because she died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring it up!" the other quickly apologized and Alfred shook his head and took a deep breath. "It's fine. She was sick for a long time and I was only a kid when it happened. My dad was pretty torn up about it, but he still had two kids to take care of. I think that is why we moved; there were too memories of her in our old house."

"Do you remember her?"

Alfred shrugged. "Bits and pieces."

"What was she like?" Ivan suddenly asked with a bit more enthusiasm that caused the blonde to give him an inquisitive look before replying.

"If you ask my father, he would say that I was just like her: free-spirited and head strong almost to a fault. Apparently that's why they met in Canada." Alfred smiled a little at the memory of his father's thickly accented voice recalling to him and his brother tales of how the mighty knight Sir Arthur was rescued by the fair maiden Amelia. Their many adventures on nights when the family missed her most would forever standout in his mind of fond memories of his childhood. "He was there seeking a new a new opening in his professional career and she was hitchhiking to nowhere in particular. My dad is super big into chivalry and stuff and had to be a gentleman and offer her a lift in his rental car. Apparently she never stopped talking the entire drive but he still asked her to join him for dinner."

Ivan giggled at the story. "That is really cute."

"Sure, if you are into that sort of stuff like romantic dinners and cuddling." Yeah, that was definitely not for him. And what they were doing right now? Not cuddling. Not even close.

Who knew why he was even sharing any of this to the person who was effectively his enemy, but talking about normal things had a calming effect that even cuddling couldn't compare with. Alfred liked the way it felt, like they were simply two acquaintances meeting up to get to know one another better.

Alfred lifted his head to take in the other's contemplative expression. "Ivan," he started softly, "What was your family like?"

He only really noticed how Ivan tensed up at his question because he was leaning against him. "Yao is my family..."

"What about before Yao?" Alfred pushed, "Who was with you?"Silence met him so he continued on. "Mother? Father?" Still no response. "Brothers? Sisters?"

He knew he must have found it when he felt Ivan shift uncomfortably beneath him. "I think I remember having sisters..."

Well, it was a start. "Tell me about them. And be honest, do they look like you?"

Ivan looked confused but answered all the same. "I think we had similar hair colours... And I remember them being nice."

"Oh, so the complete opposite to you then." The American joked, but took it back quickly at the disheartened look the other made. "Anything specific you can tell me about them?"

They lapsed into silence while Ivan tried to think of something specific which made Alfred confused. It didn't make any sense to him how a person could forget about their family. At long last Ivan sighed and told him "We used to sleep together at night when it was cold. It felt really nice to be so close with family."

There was an answer Alfred wasn't prepared for, but he still smiled warmly at getting something. "That's pretty cool to have something like that. What happened to them?"

Ivan's brow creased in concentration. "I... I don't know... I just remember being with Yao."

"Alright, alright." Alfred tried to comfort him in the most calming tone he had. No need getting the large man worked up over something like this. "It's okay if you don't know."

Ivan was silent for a long while and Alfred settled himself against the large and sturdy frame. His eyes drifted close as he turned his head so his ear pressed against the other's ribcage and the steady rhythmic sounds of breathing and heartbeats began to lull him back into sleep. For now they were simply comrades spending an afternoon together and his mind was calmed by that fact.

He gotten better with avoiding all the things that his owners didn't like. There was still some difficulty with holding his tongue and he would be slow to comply with orders and that resulted in beatings. Fighting back wasn't an option either, as he had quickly found out when he had been angry and thrown a punch back in Ivan's direction, much to Yao's disapproval. Apparently the clear liquid that came in a syringe was more like liquid fire and he had curled in on himself trying desperately to alleviate the pain that stabbed into his stomach. Ivan had stayed with him, rubbing soft circles into his back while he whimpered into the other's shirt to muffle the sound.

Normal now meant that Ivan was always nearby, and it wasn't until the nights Ivan would go alone with Yao that Alfred would actually miss having his continual presence. The darkness and silence were far worse when you were alone than when there was another warm body nearby. And it only seemed to make matters worse when Ivan would avoid him some nights when he returned. Similar to that first night in the basement, Ivan would leave the blanket with him and quietly shuffle away to the other side of the room without a word. Nothing Alfred said ever seemed to get him to open up, and he would have to wait for the morning but even the next day Ivan would smile and act like himself again, ignoring any questions the shorter had.

"I remember something else." Ivan suddenly remarked, making the blonde jump a little and open his eyes to blearily find the other.

"What is it?" Alfred asked, not even bothering to try to cover up his yawn.

"A song. I remember somebody singing it to me."

Alfred blinked slowly, watching how the larger man's face warmed with a bitter-sweet smile. "Like, one of your sisters singing it to you?"

Ivan pursed his lips in thought. "Maybe."

"Well, lay it on me big guy." Alfred closed his eyes and rested back against Ivan's chest. "Let's hear that beautiful singing voice of yours."

The platinum blonde stiffened and glanced back down at the man in his arms. "I… I don't know all the words…"

Alfred yawned again and smiled. "Sing me what you know."

They fell back into silence as Alfred expected would likely happen. Apparently the big and strong Ivan had a shy sensitive side, and he could have laughed at that fact. His breathing began to slow as his mind drifted again, thinking of lots of unimportant things until a soft sound was picked up by his ears. Hardly more than a whisper, Ivan's voice was not like he expected it to be, and actually sounded quite nice as it went over the simple melody, humming the parts he didn't know and occasionally forgetting a part of the rhythm.

The lyrics were strange and foreign, but blended well into the soft lullaby and Alfred found himself drifting off faster to the tune. "Sim uznayesh, budit vremya, branoye zhityo, smyelo vdyenish nogu f stremya i vazmyosh ruzhyo."

Ivan's arms wrapped around him tighter, holding him snuggly against his chest, and the blonde had to wriggle a bit in order to become comfortable in the new hold. The links of the chain connected to their collars clinked against each until he found a better position and sighed feeling content. "Bogatýr tý budish s vidu i kazak dushoi. Pravazhat' tibya ya výdu, tý makhnyosh rukoi."

Alfred tried to make a mental note to himself to ask Ivan to sing this again sometime, since it wasn't half bad. "Da, gotovyas v boi apasný, pomni mat' svayu. Spi, mladyenets, moi prekrasný."

Ivan continued his song until Alfred's soft snores confirmed that he was asleep once again and he sadly sighed out the final part, "Bayushki bayu."

_AN: The song is Cossack Lullaby which if you are interested you can find the full lyrics and translation to pretty easily._


End file.
